


Nightgrowlers

by Sangvinsk



Category: Zootopia
Genre: F/M, mild nudity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-14
Updated: 2016-09-14
Packaged: 2018-08-15 00:54:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8035981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sangvinsk/pseuds/Sangvinsk
Summary: Judy needs a place to crash. Nick just wants to sleep.
Clawhauser's advice is less than helpfull.





	Nightgrowlers

Nicholas Wild was not a morning mammal.

He wasn't supposed to be, of course. Foxes were nocturnal, a fact he never tired of pointing out to his bunny partner, but it was more than that: he just didn't like waking up. This made the last few days all the more trying, since he had been waking up before the crack of dawn.

It might have something to do with his new seven-coffees-a-day policy. It might have something to do with his new work as a police officer. It might have something to do with the rabbit on his chest.

Lying on his back wearing only a pair of slacks and a ZPD t-shirt, he risked a glanced down at the sleeping mammal. Judy Hopps lay curled up on his chest, agile legs pulled up to her stomach, ears flat against her head, breathing peacefully. It was probably the most adorable thing he'd ever seen.

The thought of what she'd say if he ever voiced that thought made him suppress a chuckle, and the vibrations shook her awake. She blinked up at him with sleepy eyes.

"Ah. Sorry Carrots, didn't mean to wake you."

"Nah, 's okay" she yawned, raising herself a little on his chest. She wore pink plusj pyjamas, and rubbed her eyes with the back of a tiny paw. Nick felt his breath hitch. Okay, so it was official: this was the most adorable thing he'd ever seen.

She stopped rubbing her eyes and cocked her head, looking at him.

"You all right? You look a little flushed."

He hid it with a grin.

"How can you possibly tell? I'm all red already."

"I can tell, alright. So what?"

He faked a nonchalant shrug.

"Still not used to having a bunny plushy as a hot water bottle, I suppose."

She rolled her eyes and jumped out of bed, making her way to the bathroom. He couldn't help noticing how her little tail bobbed as she walked.

"Keep that up, and you soon won't" she said, reaching up to open the fox sized door. He sat sat up as he gave her a lazy smile.

"You know you love me" he teased, more out of habit than any particular carefreeness. She simply snorted and closed the door, and he immediately fell back on the bed with a sigh.

Sweet Lady Kitsune, that little bunny drove him up the wall!

\---

The Grand Pangolin Arms was up in arms.

That's what Judy had told him, anyway.

Apparently, the monthly de-lousing had come early that month as a result of a scheduling error. The Oryx-Antlersons, already pretty twitchy, had taken this as a sign they were under attack and promptly barricaded themselves in their room, refusing to come out. Judy's landlady, whom Nick had always assumed was one of the more stable residents of the household, had gone ballistic and attempted to pry them out with the tried and tested method of hammering on their door with her cane while shouting angrily at them. Trapped between loquacious locals and a pissed pangolin, Judy Hopps had packed her bags with a sigh and asked to crash with her partner. What was a fox to do?

Naturally, he'd assumed she'd take the sofa.

Naturally, she'd assumed differently.

It was for this reason that a rather bedraggled fox made his way into the precinct that morning, slurping an extra large cup of coffee from Snarlbucks. Judy, as was her wont, chatted with him merrily as they entered the building, then hopped off to be first in the bullpen. It still meant a lot to her, even though she'd been there nearly half a year longer than Nick. Nick, on the other paw, was in no rush for Bogo's beratings. He wasn't sure what was worse: the angry tirades, or the water buffalo's jokes. He leaned against the reception desk with a groan.

"Rough night?"

He glanced up at a certain corpulent cheetah, and slid his trademark grin into place.

"Oh, nothing I can't handle. How're tricks? Hey!"

He backed up, affronted, as Clawhouser sniffed him. The large cat eyed him oddly.

"You smell like Vulpine Shampoo" he said, looking at Nick with some suspicion. Nick just looked at him oddly.

"Of course I smell like Vulpine Shampoo! What else would I smell of?"

"Good point."

"Exactly."

"It's a fox thing."

"Yeah."

"So why does Judy smell like it, too?"

Nick had taken a long sip of his coffee. It was very quickly sprayed across the floor as he quite literally took a spit take.

"The little fluffball has been taking my shampoo!" He snarled, ignoring the angry looks from passing officers. "What's next, is she gonna... Clawhauser? No, Clawhauser, don't. Seriously, just..."

But the cheetah was already pressing his paws against his flabby cheeks as a look of pure rapture spread over his face.

"Oh! Em! _Goodn_ -!"

Nick slapped a paw over the cat's mouth just in time, trying to ignore the jelly sticking to the corners of the feline's mouth.

"It isn't like that, she's just staying over! Look, it all started with a de-lousing..."

He explained the situation, to Clawhauser's increasing disappointment and his own rising dejection. When he was finished, Clawhauser had his chin in his paw, and Nick was leaning against the reception desk again, sipping coffee.

"Ah. Like that, huh?"

"Yep. Being a good friend. So now she's getting sleep, but I'm not. See these?" Nick said, pointing at his trademark sunglasses. "They're not just to make me look smooth anymore. These emerald eyes are seriously bloodshot."

"Well, have you tried asking her to take the sofa?"

"I did! She wouldn't hear of it! Apparently she trusts me, and that's how close she is with her family back in Bunnyborrow!"

Clawhauser thought for a moment.

"Yeah, but that's her family, right?" He asked slowly. Nick glanced at him.

"Yeah. So?"

"Sooo... Make it a little less of a family thing. What are you sleeping in?

Nick hesitated.

"Slacks and a t-shirt" the fox said, guardedly.

"Well, there's your problem!"

Nick blushed. It rarely happened, but when it did, he was always glad no one could see it under his fur. Hiding your emotions is a lot easier when involuntary actions are pre-censured.

He wasn't hiding his emotions now, though. He turned on Clawhauser angrily.

"You can't seriously suggest I sleep in the-!"

"In your boxers" Clawhauser finished mildly. "Mind out of the gutter, Wilde."

Nick thought about it.

It was true: Judy was not overly comfortable with nudity. One of the first jokes he'd played on her was bringing her to the naturalist club, and he could still barely conceal a snicker when he remembered her expression. And it wouldn't be crossing lines per say. He'd made a decision early to keep his relationship with Judy squarely in the friend zone. Good friends were hard to come by when you were a fox, and frankly, they'd gone through too much for him to be willing to risk it.

But he needed sleep. And break of dawn was a time of day he preferred to have a theoretical knowledge off at most.

"Thanks, Claws, I'll give it a try" he muttered, slinking off to the bullpen. The slinking turned into a run as he heard the hammering on tables that suggested that Bogo was about to make an entrance.

\---

That evening, he took a shower. He usually showered in the morning, but having spent the better part of the day trawling through the Canal District, he had a firm desire to scrub seven different types of algae out of his fur. Bogo did not like it when people were late.  
He left the bathroom wearing a bright green dressing robe, slicking his ears back with a paw; he felt refreshed.

Judy was already in her PJs on the bed, brushing the fur on her neck with a little brush. She smiled slightly at him as he entered the bedroom.

"Feel better?"

"Sure do. Remind me again why otters need flooded streets? Emmet walks on dry land just fine."

She shrugged.

"Probably just a personal preference. Ready for bed?"

"Oh, am I ever..."

Nonchalantly, he threw back the dressing robe, placing it on the back of his chair with a flourish. Judy glanced up at him, then her eyes widened, and she looked down with a deep blush.

"Nick!"

"Hmmm?" He asked, with an innocent air. He leaned on the desk calmly, showing off a great deal of fur.

"Nick, I think you... May have forgotten something in the bathroom..."

"Oh? Oh, you mean the pants. Sorry fluff. This is how I usually sleep. And that's usually without a bunny bed warmer."

She blushed even deeper at this, and her ears stood taunt on the top of her head. Nick grinned, pleased with himself.

"Of course, if this makes you uncomfortable, you can always use the couch" he said lightly.

Judy glanced at him, biting her lower lip. He grinned, then turned around and bent over to get something from the bottom drawer. His tail swished tauntingly at her. Yes! Country bumpkin manners for the win!

There was some rustling, and he took his time, not really needing anything down there.

"Actually, I think it's a great idea" he heard her say, and something landed on his head. He looked up sharply, and realised it was a pink pyjamas top.

His mouth suddenly went dry.

"It was getting rather warm, wasn't it?" He heard her say conversationally. He spun around, just as a pair of pink pyjama pants struck his legs. He opened his mouth to speak, but instead it just hung open as he took in the view.

Judy was not looking down now: to the contrary, she arched her back as she stretched herself, her petit bosom stuck out. Her eyes were closed in contentment, her hands behind her head, with her ears falling down over them.

She opened her eyes and saw him staring at her.

"What?"

His mouth closed with a click.

"Black lace" he managed to get out. "Didn't think you had it in you."

Then a rather strange expression crossed his face, and he turned away from her. She looked at him with concern.

"Nick, are you alright?"

"I'm fine" he squawked. "Though on second thought, I think I'll just sleep on the couch tonight myself."

There was silence for a while, then a broken voice said.

"Really?"

He looked over his shoulder, making sure his pelvis still faced the front.

Her ears weren't casually falling down now, they were droopy. There was a major difference, he knew. Her upper lip trembled. He sighed, and closed his eyes.

_Darn bunnies_... He thought. _So emotional_...

He backed up to the bed, then slid under the covers with a disarming grin.

"Nah, don't worry about it, Carrots. I'm starting to like my little water bottle."

She brightened up and hugged him. He was immediately keenly aware that neither of them was wearing a shirt, and that bras were getting thinner.

"Thanks Nick! You're so great!"

He smiled thinly at her, but needn't have bothered. With the excitement over with, Judy quickly fell asleep, hanging on as tightly as any of the leeches he had encountered in the Canal District. He sighed again, and turned off the light in a vain attempt to sleep.

He did his utmost to ignore the body of the very warm, very soft mammal next to him.

\---

"So if you'll just fill in these forms, I can-"

" _Clawhauser_!"

All three mammals looked up at the fox in uniform who strode towards them. Nick only had eyes for Clawhauser, however, and jabbed the rotund cat in the chest with a paw.

"You and your stupid ideas!" He snarled. "Thanks to you, I'm not getting any sleep! Have you ever tried to fall asleep with tiny breasts pressed against your naked chest all night?"

"Officer Wilde!" The cheetah said brightly. "You remember officers Wolfton and Wolfton, don't you? From Vice?"

Nick hesitated, and looked at the two impassive timberwolves. He gave them a curt nod.

"Gentlemen. Clawhauser, a word..."

\---

When he'd brushed his fangs that evening, he remained in the bathroom for a little while, staring at the mirror. He was in his boxers again, because he couldn't think of a good reason to tell her why he went back to slacks. He brushed his ears back, torn.

He was going to have to tell her to leave.

He didn't want to. Fox spirits knew he didn't want to. He enjoyed their friendship. He enjoyed it a lot. Losing it had been the second worst day of his life, getting her back had been the best. He didn't want anything to jeopardise it.

He needed her.

But for pities sake, he needed his sleep too!

Drawing a deep breath, he exited the bathroom. Judy was sitting on his bed, brushing the fur on her back. She smiled up at him as he entered the bedroom, this time wearing white cotton underwear. She opened her mouth to greet him, but he held up a paw, and she stopped, puzzled.

"Look, Judy..."

He never called her Judy, what was he doing? He pinched the bridge of his snout, and tried again.

"Look, _Carrots_ " he corrected himself. "I know you're homeless at the moment, and you're welcome to stay, of course...."

Good start, good start....

"... But this is just not working for me. Alright? I really need to tell you..."

It was for the best. It really was. Even if her ears were dropping, it was for the best.

"... Well, I've been kind of holding it in for a while, and I just can't continue..."

He needed sleep. When was the last time he'd had a full night sleep?

".... I suppose what I'm trying to say is...."

This was it. He'd ask her to leave. She'd be upset, she'd get over it, they'd laugh about it, she'd find a young rabbit buck and have two hundred kits and he'd be crazy uncle Nick...

"... I love you Judy Hopps" he finished confidently.

He smiled at her for a moment, then cocked his head as he realised what he had just said.

"Wait, that's not what I-" he began, but was interrupted as the rabbit on the bed cleared the room in a single jump, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him full on the muzzle.

\---

They were lying on the floor. At some point, they'd dragged the sheets down with them, wrapping it around their bodies like a cocoon. Nick lay on his back, Judy resting her chin on his chest in contentment. Abruptly, she punched him.

It didn't hurt, but he nevertheless flinched.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"For taking your sweet time with that, that's what!"

He chuckled. It had been a good night.

"Oh, what was I gonna say? 'Hey Carrots! Glad to have you back in my life! Want to have casual inter-species relations with me?'"

She giggled, and played with his fur.

"Not the most romantic way to say it, I suppose" she admitted. He smiled, and leaned his head back. He ruefully rubbed her back.

"Hope you don't think I'm taking advantage of the situation" he said, suddenly a little awkward.

But she simply raised herself up to stare at him incredulously.

"That _you're_ taking advantage of the situation? Who do you think bribed Clawhauser with a box of donuts to get your shirt off!"


End file.
